With a refrigerator, you can not only stock up on popsicles in the summer, but also buy more meat and vegetables at once, and store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Just like Zhang Hongyan made dumplings a few days ago, if you have a refrigerator, you can make hundreds at once, and just take them out and steam them when you want to eat them.

Unfortunately, a double-door refrigerator costs one or two thousand yuan. Although Xia Qingqing could afford it, she didn't dare to make a decision to buy it directly, otherwise she was worried that Zhang Hongyan would nag her to death.

Before the family even returned to their hometown, she had tentatively asked Zhang Hongyan about buying a refrigerator. She had barely hinted at her intention to do so when Zhang Hongyan scolded her.

Zhang Hongyan simply couldn't imagine what kind of family would spend one or two thousand yuan to buy a refrigerator; one or two thousand yuan could buy a small house in Beijing.

They've lived perfectly well all these years without a refrigerator; a refrigerator is something you can do without.

She might consider it if it only costs a couple hundred yuan, but she shouldn't even think about spending a couple thousand yuan on a broken refrigerator.

Zhang Hongyan knew her daughter had money, so when she learned of her daughter's idea to buy a refrigerator, she repeatedly warned her that she absolutely could not buy the refrigerator on her own, otherwise either the refrigerator or she would have to stay.

Xia Qingqing could actually understand her thoughts. After all, the family's life had only improved for two years, and Zhang Hongyan's mindset wasn't so easy to change.

In 1980, spending 2,000 yuan to buy a refrigerator was like spending 200,000 yuan to buy a refrigerator decades later; most families couldn't afford it.

Fortunately, whether or not there is a refrigerator doesn't make much difference to Xia Qingqing. She has more popsicles and iced milk tea in her system warehouse than she can finish, so there's no need to upset Zhang Hongyan over this.

When Zhang Hongyan has more and more money in the future, she will know to start enjoying herself without her having to say anything. For now, she should just work hard to make money.

After Xia Qingqing and Gou Dan left, Qin Chu'an gave the gift Xia Qingqing had prepared to her younger sister:

"Xinxin, this is a gift from Qingqing to us for our college entrance exam. I put it away just now because I had to eat."

"Did Qingqing give me this pen and this dress?" Qin Chuxin asked, both surprised and delighted.

Qin Chu'an smiled and nodded: "Yes, yours is a fountain pen and a dress, and mine is a fountain pen and a sailor shirt."

Qin Chuxin touched the light blue dress with care and said earnestly, "Brother, Sister Qingqing is so good to us. We must repay her in the future."

"Yes, I know. I will always remember how good Qingqing was to us."

Qin Chu'an felt that no matter how much he repaid Xia Qingqing in the future, it would not be as good as the help Xia Qingqing had given him and his sister.

Because Xia Qingqing was a lifesaver for them, their future repayments would at most be icing on the cake for Xia Qingqing.

Qin Chuxin really liked the blue dress that Xia Qingqing had given her, and couldn't wait to go back to her room to change into it.

She already had a delicate appearance, and wearing a blue dress made her look even more gentle and charming.

"Brother, can you tell me how it looks? Is it pretty?"

"It looks great. Qingqing has excellent taste," Qin Chuan nodded in agreement.

"Then you should try on your sailor shirt too. I'll wash it for you after you try it on, and you can wear it tomorrow," Qin Chuxin urged.

Qin Chu'an shook her head: "I don't want to wear it now. I'll wear it after school starts."

He's out and about every day now, so he doesn't need to wear such nice clothes; he can just wear any old clothes. But when he goes to school, he'll need to dress more appropriately.

"Oh, right, then I'll wait until school starts before wearing it," Qin Chuxin said, heading back to her room to change out of the dress.

......

On the other side, Xiao Hui was surrounded by a group of brothers, and the noise was giving him a headache.

"Brother Hui, all the sailor shirts I have are sold out. These shirts are so popular. Can you get any more?"

"Yes, I took 100 items to the next county, and they were sold out in half a day."

"If only we could get a few thousand more, I've kept five for myself."

"I kept two for myself and two for my kids. My wife wanted to take a few back to her parents' house. That stupid woman really thought these sailor shirts were free. It makes me so angry."

"Oh, you all kept them for yourselves? So I was the only idiot who sold them all? Does anyone have any left? I'd like to save a couple for myself."

"Brother Hui, why aren't you saying anything? Is it even possible to get the goods?"

Xiao Hui rubbed his throbbing temples, patted the table, and said in a low voice, "All of you shut up, you're driving me crazy."

The group of chattering men immediately fell silent upon hearing this. They looked at each other, none of them daring to continue speaking.

Xiao Hui then said unhurriedly, "Wait for my news about the goods. I need to ask about it first."

Everyone nodded quickly, indicating that they understood.

"Alright, if there's nothing else, let's call it a day," Xiao Hui said, and everyone left in twos and threes.

Their main purpose in coming here today is to hand over the money from selling the goods to Xiao Hui, which is a long-standing custom.

Xiao Hui took 3 cents from each of the sailor shirts this time, and he didn't care how much he earned after that. Apart from the cost and his share, the rest belonged to his subordinates.

Since the opening up, their business has become increasingly difficult.

Their advantage used to be their boldness; most people wouldn't dare to do business in secret, since getting caught would mean going to jail.

Xiao Hui has connections in the county, so he is much bolder than others in this regard.

But now that regulations are less strict, more and more people are competing with them for business.

Although Xiao Hui looks fierce, he is actually quite loyal and wouldn't cut off someone's livelihood.

In fact, he had enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his life, so there seemed to be no need to keep making trouble. Therefore, Xiao Hui had been considering whether to find a proper job, find a wife, and live a stable life.

He didn't want to find a wife before, partly because he didn't want another person to manage him, and partly because he was afraid that his wife or her family would hold him back.

Seeing that he was already 30 years old, while his younger brothers all had wives, children, and warm beds, he was all alone and felt lonely in the quiet of the night.

However, the biggest reason why Xiao Hui hadn't found a wife before was that he hadn't met anyone he clicked with.

He felt that he was in good shape, had money, and was sure that his wife would love him, so he had high standards for choosing a partner.

Xiao Hui felt that Pingxi County was just too good a place. It seemed that he should find time to travel around and maybe he would meet his soulmate.